6. Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe is remembered as one of the most iconic and sensual females in the history of Hollywood – thanks to roles such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Some Like it Hot, as well as the famous scene from the Seven Year Itch, where Marilyn’s dress is blown up while she is standing above a subway grating. However, despite her successful movie career, Monroe lived a troubled life away from the Hollywood glitz and glamour.
Monroe, whose real name was Norma Jean Baker had a difficult upbringing. Her mother had serious mental health issues and spent most of her adult life institutionalized. As a result, Monroe was taken care of by twelve different sets of foster parents and also spent some time in an orphanage. Monroe also had a number of failed marriages during her short life. In 1942, aged just sixteen she married James Dougherty, a fellow co-worker in an aircraft factory. They divorced in 1946 and in 1954 Monroe married famous baseball player Joe DiMaggio. Their marriage lasted just 274 days. Monroe cited “mental cruelty” as her reason for divorcing DiMaggio. She married playwright Arthur Miller in 1954 but they divorced in 1961.
Monroe was said to be in an extremely fragile mental state following her divorce to Miller. Following several months living as an almost total recluse, Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home on August 5, 1962, having taken her life by overdosing on sleeping pills. She was just 36 years old.